DEH canceled matinee & evening performances on 8/20 due to air conditioning issue at Music Box. When was the last time something like this happened?!

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DEH canceled matinee & evening performances on 8/20 due to air conditioning issue at Music Box. When was the last time something like this happened?!

Posted: 8/21/22 at 12:38pm

Always mildly noteworthy when a show cancels a performance unexpectedly. But this struck me as an especially rare occurrence since it's not something citywide (i.e. a power outage), weather-related, or Covid-related.

Either way, I'm sure the cast is grateful they didn't have to endure performing without AC. Hopefully the issue has been fixed so they can resume today.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/DEAR-EVAN-HANSEN-Cancels-Matinee-Performance-20220820

DEH canceled matinee & evening performances on 8/20 due to air conditioning issue at Music Box. When was the last time something like this happened?!

Posted: 8/21/22 at 12:47pm

I’m shocked any producer would lose out on money to spare torturing their cast, crew, and audience. Good for them.

DEH canceled matinee & evening performances on 8/20 due to air conditioning issue at Music Box. When was the last time something like this happened?!

Posted: 8/21/22 at 12:55pm

TotallyEffed said: "I’m shocked any producer would lose out on money to spare torturing their cast, crew, and audience. Good for them."

I doubt it was for the cast (unless there's a union rule) but for the audience. I wouldn't want to have to deal with 1000+ sweating people complaining about the heat.

Years ago the a/c broke at the Hayes during Xanadu. They ended up renting a air conditioning unit on a giant truck and parking it in front of the theatre and piping it in through a window for a couple of days. No shows were canceled.

DEH canceled matinee & evening performances on 8/20 due to air conditioning issue at Music Box. When was the last time something like this happened?!

Posted: 8/21/22 at 1:42pm

Umm... the Music Box is almost twice as big as the Helen Hayes and Xanadu didn't have near as much electronics to keep cool in their theatre, DEH relies heavily on the LED board. Xanadu was also much shorter with no intermission and we're also not accounting for what time of year it was and what temperature it was.

This cancelation was not done as a courtesy but as a necessity. If they could have covered for it they would have. And regulations on AC have changed since Covid, no Equity rep is going to sign off on pumping it in through a window.

DEH canceled matinee & evening performances on 8/20 due to air conditioning issue at Music Box. When was the last time something like this happened?!

Posted: 8/21/22 at 2:19pm

Is this the longest topic heading in the history of this site?

DEH canceled matinee & evening performances on 8/20 due to air conditioning issue at Music Box. When was the last time something like this happened?!

Posted: 8/21/22 at 2:50pm

RUkiddingme said: "Is this the longest topic heading in the history of this site?"

I don't know, but it is most certainly hyperbolic.

DEH canceled matinee & evening performances on 8/20 due to air conditioning issue at Music Box. When was the last time something like this happened?!

Posted: 8/21/22 at 3:38pm

Happened to me back on a very warm May ‘16 evening at American Psycho at the Schoenfeld. They didn’t cancel, but the whole audience was drenched in sweat by the end. The cast seemed fine. Someone said after that it was just affecting the units that cooled the house, not the stage or backstage.

DEH canceled matinee & evening performances on 8/20 due to air conditioning issue at Music Box. When was the last time something like this happened?!

Posted: 8/21/22 at 4:44pm

I’m curious. Does insurance cover this type of thing? Or is the theater responsible to the production for this type of situation?

DEH canceled matinee & evening performances on 8/20 due to air conditioning issue at Music Box. When was the last time something like this happened?!

Posted: 8/21/22 at 4:50pm

I believe there are union rules (not just the actors’ union) that does stipulate about temperature control. It’s for the safety of workers onstage, backstage, and in the pit (although the musicians are onstage).

#10

DEH canceled matinee & evening performances on 8/20 due to air conditioning issue at Music Box. When was the last time something like this happened?!

Posted: 8/21/22 at 5:10pm

At Phantom one hot summer night before the pandemic began, the air was not working and they did the show. It was very warm but David Lai conducted like a champ and they played the show perfectly. There is no way they were going to cancel with 1,600 people in the audience. Plus, we know Cameron Macintosh hates canceling.

Updated On: 8/23/22 at 05:10 PM

#11

DEH canceled matinee & evening performances on 8/20 due to air conditioning issue at Music Box. When was the last time something like this happened?!

Posted: 8/21/22 at 11:08pm

A water main break led to the cancellation of a performance of Cats at the Neil Simon Theatre back in 2016.

https://playbill.com/article/cats-cancels-wednesday-night-show-due-to-water-supply-break

I dug up an old thread where people discussed it on these boards:

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1095512

#12

DEH canceled matinee & evening performances on 8/20 due to air conditioning issue at Music Box. When was the last time something like this happened?!

Posted: 8/22/22 at 10:23am

nasty_khakis said: "TotallyEffed said: "I’m shocked any producer would lose out on money to spare torturing their cast, crew, and audience. Good for them."

I doubt it was for the cast (unless there's a union rule) but for the audience. I wouldn't want to have to deal with 1000+ sweating people complaining about the heat."

I think it might also be a Covid thing. The HVAC system that broke down is likely the same system that purifies the air, reducing the spread of the virus.

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